Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Athletes

Professional athletes found chiropractic treatment as a non-invasive and drug-free alternative to undo the punishment that their body takes in sports. The main goal is to enhance their performance while decreasing the pain. Strenuous and vigorous exercises became part of training for Athletes, which causes a variety of sports injuries. Treating these said injuries is just one of the many ways that athletes benefit from chiropractic care.

Spinal adjustments combined with chiropractic treatment can help treat sports injuries from sports that have high-impact in the body, having the same amount of strain felt compared to an auto collision. These sports include football, basketball, and hockey. Chiropractic adjustments can help to treat injuries from these high-impact sports. When the body starts to reduce the inflammation of the nerves, the body also heals naturally which improves performance. Chiropractic care also offers a natural way to prevent many different ailments that often plague athletes.

The most effective way to treat sports-related injuries is to stop them from occurring. Chiropractic care helps achieve proper balance while maintaining musculoskeletal coordination. When the body performs at its best performance it greatly diminishes related to poor function. According to Sports Medicine Guide published by Thomas Harris: “Postural strength and coordination are essential for injury prevention and sports performance.”

In another study at Pollard by Hoskins, chiropractic care helps to add conventional treatment that lowers the risk of strain injuries, knee injuries, and lower back pain. Athletes receiving chiropractic treatment claimed to have an overall improvement in their health and performance.

Some of the evident improvement includes:

better endurance

fewer sports-related injuries

improved range of motion

increased blood flow

increased flexibility

Induces faster healing

Abnormal alignment of nerves or muscles in the body may slow down the healing process. When injured, the body tries to protect itself from additional damage that may occur. Many cases evidently supported that chiropractic treatment can help ease inflammation and muscle spasm, which helps speed up the recovery process. It has known positive effects on the following:

Headaches

Hip, knee, ankle and foot sprains

Neck, mid-back and lower back pain

Sciatica

Shoulder pain

Shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand sprains

Tennis and golfer’s elbow

It acts as a pain reliever

It is evident in various types of research that chiropractic treatment has beneficial effects on athletes. Athletes often suffer injuries that restrict their flexibility. When compressed, nerves may cause an abnormal amount of stress and strain on the tissues, resulting in painful sensations. In a recent study reviewing the effectiveness of spinal adjustments, it concluded that chiropractic treatment helps restore mobility back to its designed movement patterns. It also triggers faster healing and less discomfort to the athletes both for short-term and long-term effects.

A universally accepted as a safe and drug-free alternative treatment

Treatments for pain medication commonly involve prescription drugs. Some of these drugs have side effects which are a serious problem that can be life-threatening. What’s worse than having a physical injury is developing a drug addiction. Unlike other treatment, Chiropractic treatment does not use any pain reliever medications. By using manual manipulation of the spine and nervous system, it solely depends on spinal adjustments so that the body heals naturally.

With proper diet, regular exercise, and correct posture, chiropractic treatment can help the injured athlete get better, and be active again.

Helps athletes achieve their optimal performance

Chiropractic concentrates on the motion of the spine enhancing the function of the nervous system. Correct spinal position and motion can lead to improved bodily function. A Canadian research team included chiropractic treatment in the rehabilitation program of their athletes. Among injured females, 16 are long-distance runners. Although there may be other contributing factors, they recovered quickly, in fact, nine of them actually scored “personal best” performances while under chiropractic treatment, although there may be other contributing factors.

According to the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, there is a 6.12% improvement in athletes who undergo 12-week chiropractic care treatment.